First AG or last PM?

[magno]

This weekend Im going to brew my second batch of Poor Richards Ale, just in time to open it on Ben Franklins birthday, January 17. Im not sure if this will be my first AG or my last PM. I guess circumstances are making the PM sound more reasonable. This is the recipe I will follow:

10.25 lbs Pale malt (may wind up being 5 lbs pale malt and 3.75 lbs etra pale LME)
3.13 lbs Flaked corn
2.15 lbs Biscuit
1.62 lbs Special Roast
.25 lb molasses

East Kent Goldings
15 IBU at 60 min
10 IBU at 45 min
6 IBU at 30 min

WLP 007 Dry English Ale yeast

I need to make my zapap MLT, and this will probably necessitate my long awaited 6.5 gal carboy, as the bucket which had been the primary is getting moved to MLT duties.

I am planning a single infusion mash followed by a batch sparge. Any kind of input here would be helpful. Will it be possible to only wind up with six or so gallons pre-boil with this method, or will I have to deal with 7 plus?

- magno

 

[brewmister]

Its going to depend on how much sparge water you use. I would plan on losing a gallon of water to grain absorbtion and 1-1.5 gallons in your boil.

 

[magno]

I guess what Im asking is what are the drawbacks of sparging with less than the recomended amount of water? Should I add grain and/or DME to compensate?

From what I read you should ideally use 1 quart per lb grain in the mash. This would be 4.35 gal for the AG recipe. could I get away with sparging with less than 3 gallons of water, maybe by recirculating? Or should I do the PM recipe and mash with 3 gal and sparge with 3 - 4 gal?

 

[the_bird]

1qt per pound is a bit on the dry/thick side. I usually target 1.25 (had some issues with that last time.... )

Sparging, you should be using even more water that you add to the mash. If you only use three gallons, you're going to have horrible efficiency (so you'll end up needing to add some DME to make up the difference anyway).

I'd do the PM, the difference in taste won't be all that great (if even noticable).

Personally, too, I would consider making a cooler-based MLT rather than the zapat. It'll cost a little more for a cooler and the parts, but you should be able to achieve much greater temperature control (one of the most important variables in AG brewing). Do you really want to futz around with blankets or insulation or whatever to keep the mash in the zapat MLT at the right temp?

 

[magno]

OK, Im definitely doing it PM. Would I be OK cutting the pale malt even further and compensating with LME? Or would there not be enough enzymes to convert the starches? I am limited in MLT size but, I think more so in kettle size, I cannot boil more than about 7 gallons.

One day Im sure I will make myself a cooler MLT, but for the next year or two I'll have to rough it with the zapap. I bought a second bucket a while ago to use as a temporary fermenter while my meads were doing their thing, now that the meads are almost done, the buckets are destined for MLT glory (the outside bucket will be for sanitizing/ bottling too). For a while at least I will have to mess with some insulation, it will make me appreciate the cooler all the more when I move on to that.

- magno

 

[david_42]

I wouldn't cut the pale below 5 lbs. In fact, I'd be tempted to use 6-row to ensure conversion any time the base:adjunct ratio is below 1:1.

 

[magno]

I went down to the LHBS today and got the ingredients. I went with the PM and used 6-row (thanks david_42). After gathering the ingredients and making the starter I made the zapap MLT. The thing that is bothering me the most about it is the gallon or so that will be wasted at the bottom. What will be the best way of maximizing the space in the MLT? I could cut off the little flanges on the inner bucket, but this would only give me about a quart to half a gallon. I could also cut a bit off the top of the outer bucket so that the inner bucket sits just above the spigot, or fashion some kind of cover to hold the liquid in the inner bucket, then remove the cover to sparge. Any ideas?

 

[magno]

I ended up cutting the flanges off the inner bucket. The flanges stuck out about three quarters of an inch below the where the handle comes off the bucket. By removing them I gained almost half of the dead space back.

There were some problems with the batch, not unexpected though. My efficiency was horrible, probably because I could not sparge with enough water. The last runnings had a SG of 1.030, a bit high, but I was out of places to put the wort. I compensated for the poor efficiency later by adding more DME and molasses.

What do people do with the extra wort from their MLTs? How much do I need, and of what SG to prime with it?

I look forward to cracking these open in January.

- magno